Wire-stretcher



(No Model.)

B. .ERBE.

WIRE STRETGHER.

No. 373,518. Patented Nov. 22. 1887.

N. PETERS, Pnnwunm n lmr. wumm lnn. u. c.

NITED STATES PATENT Grates.

BARTHEL ERBE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

WlRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 373,518, dated November 22, 1887.

Application filed May 2, 1867. Serial No. 286,5-82. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BARTHEL ERBE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Pittsburg, Allegheny county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Wire- Stretchers for Stretching Fence-\Vires; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it relates to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple, cheap, and efficient implement for stretching wires in building wire fences.

My invention consists in the combination of a ratchet-toothed bar with a slotted lever having a pin in the front part of the slot, which catches into the ratchet-teeth and serves as a fulcrum for the lever when straining the wire, and a short swinging bar pivoted in the rear part of the slot to serve as a fulcrum to the lever when advancing the fulcrum-pin to a new position, the bar being kept in position by a short guide link or lever that incloses the ratchet-bar in a slot in one of its arms and has a wire-gripper attached to the other end.

The construction and operation of my invention will be fully understood from the following more exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters referring. to the same parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan of the entire implement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the slot in the lever and transversely through the ratchet-bar and fulcrum-bar.

A is the ratchet-bar, with a hook, M, at the end for attaching the instrument to a post or other stationary object by a chain or rope.

B is the lever for operating the stretcher.

C is the fulcrum-bar.

fis the pin which acts as a fulcrum when straining the wire.

D is the short guide link or lever which holds the end 9 of the bar 0 against the front of the ratchet-teeth.

h and h are pins that serve as pivots for the short and long levers on the bar 0.

K is a wire-gripper, of any suit-able construction, for holding the line of wire in.

The relation of the several parts will be ob vious from an inspection of the drawings.

The operation of the implement is as follows: It is securely attached by a rope or chain running from the hooks in to a post on the line of the fence. The free end of the wire to is held in the gripper K the wire being drawn as taut as may he by hand. If, now, the lever B be moved in the direction indicated by the arrow at its extreme end, the pin fwill serve as a fulcrum to the lever, the bar 0 will be carried forward past one or more teeth, an, of the ratchet, and the strain of the wire on the short lever D will force the end 9 of the bar 0 into position in front of the last tooth passed, where it will serve as a detent or pawl. If, now, the lever B be moved in the reverse direction, the bar 0 serves as a fulcrum on which the lever turns, and the pin falls into a tooth farther forward, giving a new point of leverage for further stretching the wire. By repeati ng these alternate back-and-forth motions of the lever B the wire is drawn step by step until it is sufficiently strained, when it is securely fastened to the posts in the usual way, and the grip being released, the implement is carried forward to a new position.

I am aware that there are many forms of ratchet wire-stretchers, and I desire to confine my claim to the particular relation of the parts of my stretcher as shown and described; and,

Having fully described my invention and its mode of operation. what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a wire-stretcher such as I have described; the combination of the ratchet-bar A with the slotted lever B, having a pin,f, in the front part of the slot and a swinging bar, 0, in the rear part, the guide link or lever D, and a wire-gripper, K, arranged and operating as and for the purpose specified.

BARTHEL ERBE.

Witnesses:

EDW'ARD T. EVANS, ANDW. PATTERSON. 

